Decorating Ideas for a Long Living Room Wall

Bold Colored Walls

• Now’s your chance to break away from paint traditions, such as using light, neutral paint colors. The long expanse is the perfect canvas for dark colors. Go for drama by painting the walls in a deep dark, midnight blue. Add an air of opulence with a rich, eggplant purple paint color, or an espresso brown to blend with a Tuscan decor theme.

Tapestries

• One long, detailed tapestry or an ensemble of three can make a strong statement on a long living room wall. Use an ornate pole for hanging the tapestry, and hang braided silk ropes with tassels on the end to accent the tapestry pieces. Hang the tapestry behind a sofa to create a cozy ambiance.

Expansive Murals

• Take advantage of the wide expanse of wall space you have by hanging a mural or having one custom painted. If you’re artistically inclined, try painting a mural yourself. For example, you could replicate the vista overlooking the Aegean Sea, or have a photograph of the Eiffel Tower enlarged and turned into a mural. Use places you’ve visited in the past or places on your bucket list for inspiration.

Thematic Artwork

• Use the wall to create your own art gallery display. Select a theme and group framed and unframed objects to decorate the wall. For example, take your love of travel and frame a large map of the world. Then add accent pieces that represent different countries and cultures. You could focus the decorative pieces on one common artifact, such as masks, and have ancient tribal masks from Africa, Asia and other cultures. The key is to select one large piece of artwork and expand on the colors of symbolism it represents with decorative items to fill the rest of the wall space.

Wall of Bookcases

• A long stretch of bookcases can make a living room classy and comfortable. You can paint the shelves the same color as the walls and let the spines of the books and their covers provide the color. The shelves can also be used to display decorative pieces and framed photographs of friends and family. Add a sliding wooden ladder and create a classic library look for your literature collection.

Accent Lighting

• Draw attention to your wall color and artwork with accent lighting. A long living room wall provides an opportunity to be creative with lighting. For example, you can highlight tapestries with wall sconces, flanking the left and right sides of the tapestry. If you use a mural, you can add recessed lighting on the ceiling to highlight the mural at night. Or, you can use can position lights in the floor to create an up lighting effect to cast shadows on the walls and shine through the leaves of large indoor plants and trees.